Gerber Has Named Their Newest Gerber Baby And People Are In LOVE
Gerber is one of America's most well-known baby food products. Founded in 1927 and originally producing canned fruits and vegetables, founder Daniel Frank Gerber soon found that he could produce baby food at the suggestion of his pediatrician, who recommended making hand-strained food for their 7-month-old daughter, Sally. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Story Behind Gerber
The actual story behind Gerber getting into the baby food game has been told one of two ways. The first story says that Dorothy, Daniel's wife, convinced him to create baby food using the industrial Fremont Canning Company that they owned in order to make life easier for mother's across the country.
The Other Story
Naturally, the other story casts Daniel as the originator. Apparently, he was frustrated seeing his wife toiling away at straining this baby food, and he didn't want to see her forced into the kitchen for hours on end, so he instead invented the Gerber baby food line. How heroic.
The Introduction Of The Gerber Baby
@gerber / Instagram
In 1928, Gerber announced that they were looking for baby images for its new line of baby food, and surprisingly enough, their neighbor was an artist. Dorothy Hope Smith created the charcoal drawing that would eventually become the face of Gerber.
A poll was taken to guess the identity of the Gerber baby, and a few interesting names came up across America.
Dorothy Hope Smith
@gerber / Instagram
Couldn't guess it? That's not too surprising. After names like Humphrey Bogart to Bob Dole were thrown out there, mystery novelist Ann Turner Cook revealed that she was, in fact, the Gerber baby. For more than 85 years, her's has been the face behind one of the most recognizable brands ever.
The Next Gerber Baby
In 2011, Gerber decided to start looking for the next Gerber baby, and eventually chose toddler Mary Jane Montoya. This began a yearly tradition that has given children across the country the chance to represent the company, but in 2018, history was made.
Prepare To Swoon
Of the 140,000 entries to the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby contest, Lucas Warren was chosen. He won a grand prize of $50,000, which his family plans to save for his education.
Of course, social media users were compelled to share their opinions. Keep reading to see how the world reacted to Lucas' new gig.
He Always Has A Smile On His Face
Lucas's mom, Cortney, says that gorgeous smile that everyone is so in love with is always on his face.
"He's very outgoing and never meets a stranger. He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh." If only we could hang out with Lucas!
One Happy Family
"We're hoping this will impact everyone — that it will shed a little bit of light on the special needs community and help more individuals with special needs be accepted and not limited," dad Jason Warren said.
Lucas Got To Meet The Original Gerber Baby
History was made in 2018, when Lucas and the original Gerber baby, Ann Turner Cook, got to meet in person. They hit it off right away.
“As soon as we walked into the room, she and Lucas immediately bonded,” Lucas' parents told People. "We could tell he loved her right away.” The feeling was mutual!
People Love Lucas As The New Gerber Baby
We aren't gonna lie -- seeing the precious pictures of Lucas and knowing what an impact a baby with Down syndrome being chosen for this contest can make, we ugly cried, too.
This contest and pictures have hit us in pretty much every feel that we have.
Sisterly Love
This Twitter user also shed tears after hearing about Lucas being chosen for the Gerber Spokesbaby contest and learning that he has Down syndrome.
This reminds the user of her own brother with Down syndrome. Clearly being hit right in the feels continues.
Say Cheese!
Gerber CEO and President Bill Partyka spoke about Lucas being selected: "Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby. This year, Lucas is the perfect fit."
Then And Now
The image to the left shows the original Gerber baby logo. We can definitely see why Lucas was chosen!
Here's hoping that Gerber decides to adapt their logo to add in Lucas's smiling face. Even if it's only for a limited time, we'd love to see it!
He's Spot On
This Twitter user puts Lucas's being chosen as the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby into the best words possible.
He is spot on in that the decision to choose Lucas is a wonderful affirmation of all human life. Hopefully, this is a trend that Gerber will keep in future contests.
That's A Good Question
This Twitter user asks the right question -- why have babies with Down syndrome (and other special needs) never been chosen before? It was definitely time for a change.
Cuteness Overload
For some more Lucas cuteness, this image was taken during an interview, and people are loving it.
We definitely give Gerber a big thumbs up for choosing this little guy as the new Gerber Baby, too! And on a side note -- that little bow tie is everything.
Keep Smiling, Lucas
It's so easy to see why everyone is in love with Lucas when you see more pictures like this.
If we were the people in charge of choosing the winner of the Gerber Baby contest, we imagine that it would be a no-brainer to go with a smile like that.
More Praise For Gerber
This makes us hope that other companies that offer products for babies (and that feature baby models on their items) will take a cue from Gerber and be more inclusive.
Future Gerber Baby?
After hearing about Lucas winning, this Twitter mom decided to share a picture of her own little girl, who also has Down syndrome.
She refers to her as her own Gerber baby, but we bet this little girl could win the contest next year if she isn't past the age cutoff.
Keep It Coming
Even more people felt inspired to share pictures of their beautiful kiddos with Down syndrome.
This little guy has a beautiful smile, too, and would have definitely made a great Gerber Spokesbaby! That button-down shirt with the little anchors ups the adorable factor by about a thousand.
All Grown Up
This mom shows Gerber what they missed out on over a decade ago. Her little guy is 12 years old now, so he's too old to be a Gerber baby, but he should have been a shoe-in back in the day.
"Simply Beautiful" Is Right
This Twitter user points out that while all Gerber babies are cute, that Lucas has a joy-filled smile.
She is right on with her assessment, and this is probably something that set Lucas apart from all of the other 140,000 entries in the contest.
Right On, Felicia
Like Felicia, we're definitely in agreement that all companies should be inclusive of all babies.
We're wondering which company will be the next to step up and let "differently-abled" child be featured on their products. Maybe Twitter users will petition other baby companies to get on board.
That Bow Tie Is What's Up
In earlier slides, you could see baby Lucas wearing an adorable outfit with a bow tie, and it was all kinds of awesome (click back through if you need to).
Now we're just waiting on Lucas's mom to buy a fedora and a pair of suspenders to complete the look.
So Much Love
When looking at the images of Gerber's newest spokesbaby Lucas, we definitely get that feeling of him exuding love, too, just like this Twitter user.
If only everyone could have a fraction of Lucas's love and joy, then the world would be in a much better -- and happier -- place!
Time To Change Policy, Gerber
Even though Gerber has received tons of accolades for choosing Lucas as their 2018 Spokesbaby, there is one issue remaining -- the fact that Gerber won't provide life insurance to babies with Down syndrome.
Hopefully, this is something Gerber will revisit and revise now that it has been brought up.
